Dan's Blog: For What it's worth.

Have you been surrounded before while carving up a turkey? Be sure to head over and contribute to the Turkey Dogs Pool on flickr.

For what it's worth.

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So this up coming weekend looks to be the last planned backpacking trip of this season. With the birth our second child sometime in late November the mid-November trip was pushed up to late October. We are going to be hiking the Jordan Valley Pathway. It has been a while since we hiked it and we plan on hiking the loop in the opposite direction as we have in the past. Back on the main land this time so the dog is coming along and sounds like a new hiker as well... we have talked another into wandering with us.

For what it's worth.

Tomorrow morning very early I am headed out for the second to the last backpacking trip of this season. Dave and I are headed for a three day hike on North Manitou Island about 6 miles off shore in Lake Michigan. If you are a follower of my hiking adventures you will know that I normally also take along the furry hiking buddy (my dog) but there are no dogs allowed on the island... guess she has to sit this one out, she is going to be depressed and confused when I leave with the pack and without her, sorry girl there is another one coming up in mid-October that you can come with.

After I get back I will post the pictures that we get. I hear there are some awesome sights and Dave love his camera so I am sure that there will be some great photos to share.

For what it's worth.

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Another extremely sad story about a small child (baby in this case) being mauled by a dog. This one happened to be a rottweiler but almost any dog or animal can have this effect. I am not in any way advocating for no pets, I am just stating that parents need to be smart and diligent about pets and small children.

We have a now five year old yellow lab and she is the calmest little one that I know. When our daughter (now two) was smaller and even now we are very aware of if she and the dog are alone. There have been a couple of times that our daughter is not doing anything to provoke the dog and all of the sudden the dog either starts barking (very rare) or just gets over excited about a situation and someone (an adult) needs to step in and separate the dog form the situation. As much as people try to domesticate animals like dogs, they are still animals and need supervision over those types of interactions.

Bottom line to parents, be smart and keep children and pets supervised at all times.

For what it's worth.

It is always interesting the sounds that will make a dog come running. The latest one, I have know this for a while, is the sound of opening a single packet string cheese... make Nuba sit no matter where she is in the house or the backyard and come running. Very Pavlovian.

For what it's worth.

Staying with tradition, we take our dog to Petco on her birthday and let her pick out a new toy, which a little bit of guidance. This year the selection was the Fire Hose Squeak N Fetch Large Dog Toy. As I have claimed in the past, I think the dog toy manufactures should hire Nuba as a test pet for toys. I was being hopeful that this one would last for a while. Well wrong I was, we woke this morning to find the ends now frayed... that is less than 12 hours. I will state though the tire biter from last year is still in working order. Although the tire has survived I would recommend it as an outside toy or someplace that you don't care about scuff marks, it leave black scuff marks on the walls or anything else it "bumps" into when being tossed about. So the "hose" will hang around a bit longer as a toy for fetch but can not be left out for general chewing any longer.

For what it's worth.

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Our little girl is not so little anymore. Nuba turns five doggy years old today and still has puppy left in her. Summer is one of her favorite times... swimming in the river, sun baking on the back patio, walks (more than winter), backpacking. Ah the life of a dog. Now to just hang out and head to Petco later to get a birthday treat.

For what it's worth.

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